a dreadful law enforcement officer, spy, agent, or anyone who needs to use their brains to stay alive. She says clearly, she has read that Konstantin is a dangerous man. She believes you are missing, but leaves a note here, on the counter, where anyone can read it?”
He turns to Konstantin and bursts out laughing. “English women,” he says. “They are so funny.”
I don’t like the disparaging way he says this, but I have too much else on my mind to get into a row. Like … broccoli? That’s not an easy word to fit into a sentence. At all. Suze is lovely, but sometimes her mind moves in mysterious ways. She’s a good cleaner, though. My place has never looked so spotless.
Ignoring the great hulking lumps of male meat in my living area, I hotfoot it to my bedroom and gather some of my favorite clothes, along with my passport and other items I need. It’s silly but some things, small things like my trusty lip balm, bring tears to my eyes; they’re so familiar. So comforting.
I shove everything into a cotton drawstring bag and head back out to the testosterone-fest raging in my living space.
“I’m ready,” I announce.
“Let’s go.” Reece smiles at me and opens the door, making a sweeping gesture with his arm.
I exit my apartment with a last glance back at it. Who knows when I will see it again? I head down the hallway and knock on Mr. Clarke’s door. He opens it, and his brows raise in surprise.
I can tell he would have been a very handsome young man. He still possesses a thick shock of white hair, one strand of which falls rakishly over bright brown eyes. His bone structure is still good even in his eighties.
“Cassie!” he exclaims. “How good to see you.” Then his gaze lifts beyond me to the three men standing a few feet back in the hallway. “Are you alright?” he asks.
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you. This is my boss, Mr. Silvanov, and these men work with us.” I indicate Bohdan and Reece with a sweep of my arm, trying not to smile at Bohdan’s incensed expression at being lumped into the working class with me.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Clarke, sir.” Konstantin shocks me with his impeccable manners as he shakes Mr. Clarke’s hand.
Mr. Clarke eyes the three men suspiciously. “You too, Mr. Silvanov. Please take good care of Cassie while she’s working with you. I’d so very much hate for anything to happen to her. She’s loved by a great many people.”
It’s a threat, and one Konstantin acknowledges with a dip of his head. Mr. Clarke focuses on Bohdan, and his eyes narrow.
“Young man, I served in the British Military for a great many years, and I know what a concealed gun looks like under clothing. If you’re putting Cassie in any danger, you will all have to answer to me.”
I expect the man to break into guffaws of laughter at being threatened by an octogenarian, but instead Reece steps forward. “As you worked in the military, I can tell you, from one serviceman to another, Cassie is safe with us. I’m Reece, and I’m SBS, currently private security, and this is my card. If anyone comes sniffing around here, can you let us know? Also, if you are threatened in any way, call me immediately. We can’t go into specifics, which I’m sure you understand. No one else in Cassie’s social circle knows what’s truly going on, but we’re working to protect Cassie.”
He hands Mr. Clarke a card, who studies it and then nods, putting it in his pocket. “SBS, you say?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I can’t think of anyone better to guard Cassie’s life, so I won’t be saying anything, and of course I’ll call if anything remotely suspicious occurs. Mark my words, though, anything happens to Cassie, and you three, your names and descriptions will be given to the police by me.”
“Nothing will happen to her,” Konstantin says seriously. “Not so long as I’m living and breathing.”
We leave after I assure Mr. Clarke that we will be back to our dancing soon.
As we head down in the elevator, Bohdan says something in Russian, and Konstantin answers him, then turns to me. “He was asking if he’s coming to Paris, and I told him, yes. With Vasily out of commission, I’m going to need Bohdan and Reece to come with us, and two of the hired guns. I’m going to leave Andrius in charge here, at the